Whitley CastleAt 330m (1050ft) above sea level, Epiacum (Whitley Castle) isthe highest stone-built Roman fort in Britain. It housed agarrison of about 500 men, and was probably built to controlmining for lead and silver. Although we have yet to discoverevidence for Roman mining in the North Pennines,archaeologists agree that it must have taken place here. TheRoman road known as the Maiden Way (between the forts atKirkby Thore, in the Eden Valley, and Carvoran, on Hadrian’sWall) passes close by the fort. Free guided walks for groups of6+ can be arranged by contacting Elaine Edgar:elaine.edgar@btinternet.com telephone 01434 381773

Epiacum’s unique rhomboidal form (most Roman forts weremore rectangular in plan) is due to the shape of the gentlysloping knoll on which it is built. The fort defences consisted of astone wall surrounded by earthen banks and ditches whichsurvive today as some of the best-preserved fort ramparts in theentire Roman Empire. Large stone towers stood at the corners ofthe fort. Access to the interior was typically through four massivestone gateways, one in each side. Turf-covered foundations ofbuildings, including the headquarters building and barrackblocks, can still be seen on the ground within the fort.

WhitleyCastleAlstonthroughtheages

LivingNorth Pennines

supporting ourlandscape together

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HowtogetthereWhitleyCastleAlstonthroughtheagesThishistoricwalktakesyoufromAlstonalongthePennineWayuptotheRomanFortatWhitleyCastle.Ifyouarekeentowalkanddiscovermore,theroutecontinuespastKirkhaughchurchtoAlston.Afterthechurchyoucan:CarryonthefullroutetoAlston;GobacktoKirkhaughstationandwalkbackalongtherailway;HaveacupofteaonboardandridethetraintoAlston.Seebelowforfurtherinformation.

Walkdistance:Approx12km(71⁄2miles)or6km(3

3⁄4miles)if

returningbytherailway.

Walklength:Allow4hoursifwalkingwholerouteor2hoursifcatchingthetrainbacktoAlston.

Walkgrade:Moderate–Typicallyacountrywalkwithsomehills,stilesandmuddypaths.Bootsadvisable.

Usefulmaps:OSLandrangerSheet86HaltwhistleandBramptonOSExplorerSheet31NorthPennines.TeesdaleandWeardale

Start/finish:SouthTynedaleRailwaycarpark,AlstonGridReferenceNY717468NBCarparkclosesat5pm

Publictransport:ForjourneyandtimetableinformationcallTravelineon08712002233

Facilities:Alstonhaspublictoilets,aPostOffice,atransportmuseum(TheHub)andshops,severalhotelsandtearooms.

PleasefollowtheCountrysideCode:leavegatesasyoufindthemandkeepyourdogunderclosecontrol(onaleadwhensignsspecifythis).

CreditsThisleafletwasproducedinassociationwithElaineEdgaratWhitleyCastle,AlastairRobertsonoftheAlstonMoorHistoricalSociety,EnglishHeritage,andtheSouthTynedaleRailwayPreservationSociety.

Graphicdesign:MarcusByron&MaisieOuten.Map:AnnaBroadhurst

Historically, little archaeological research has taken place atEpiacum, but many artefacts including altars, inscribedstones, coins, pottery and objects of glass and jet have beenfound here over the centuries. An excavation of the bathhouse, at the north-east corner of the fort, took place in1810, and in 1825 a Roman rubbish tip was discoveredfrom which several leather shoes were recovered along witha wooden comb, pottery and other objects. Some of thisRoman rubbish was spread on local fields as manure,apparently to great effect!

Pottery from a small excavation in the 1950s suggests thatthe fort was built at about the same time as Hadrian’s Wall, inthe year 122. It was rebuilt on at least two occasions beforeapparently being abandoned in the later fourth century.

The archaeological survey in 2009 has revealed the fort ingreat detail, along with the remains of a civilian settlement(‘vicus’) north and west of the fort ramparts. Further research,conservation and interpretation work is planned over the nextfew years and results will be posted on the AONB website.

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ThisisoneofaseriesofwalksleafletstohelpyoudiscovertheNorthPenninesAONB.Whynottryoneoftheothers?

Tofindoutmore,contact:NorthPenninesAONBPartnership,WeardaleBusinessCentre,TheOldCo-opBuilding,1MartinStreet,StanhopeCo.DurhamDL132UY+44(0)1388528801info@northpenninesaonb.org.ukwww.northpennines.org.uk

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WhitleyCastleAlstonthroughtheages

Please note that Whitley Castle Roman Fort is legally protected as aScheduled Ancient Monument and it is against the law to damage it,remove anything from it, or disturb the ground within it in any way.

Whitley Castle from above Randalholme

Roman altars foundat the fort Roman leather shoes

found at Whitley Castle

Aerial view of Whitley Castle Roman Fort

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Continue to Randalholme, the ancient seat of the deVeterponts, Lords of Alston Moor. A tower is recorded here inthe fourteenth century and the house, though much altered oversubsequent centuries, was probably built in the sixteenth century.

Head up the hill away from Randalholme and continueuntil you reach a fingerpost to Alston on the right. Followit! This path takes you down through woods and alongfields next to the river. Pass through a gateway on to atrack. Follow this, turning right at a crossroads. Carefullycross the railway and join the South Tyne Way, to Alstonstation car park. Please note the the car park closes at 5pm.

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A 4000 year-old Bronze Age burial cairn, oneof three in this area, was excavated in 1935and found to contain a pottery beaker, someflint tools and a very rare gold earring of a typeknown from only two other sites in England.The earrings and other finds areon display at the Great NorthMuseum, Newcastle upon Tyne.

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After passing through the gateway, eitherturn right to get to Kirkhaugh station, whereyou can catch the train or walk along the pathbeside the railway to Alston; or continuedown towards the river, following ‘Isaac’s TeaTrail’ over a footbridge. Turn left and followthe path to meet a public bridleway. Followthis to a road and turn right.

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Whitley Castle walk

Old carriageway to Harbut Lodge

Alston

Randalholme, with Whitley Castle in distance

Ancient cross outsideKirkhaugh Church

Kirkhaugh Church,before its rebuilding

in 1869

Continue, past a garage, round a bend and over thebridge. Turn right on (the road to Brampton), thenimmediately right again onto a track (signedPennine Way). This bridge over the South Tyne was builtin 1836 to replace an ‘ill formed and narrow’ one of1770. In the 19th century there was a brewery adjacentto the bridge; this closed in about 1880 but the buildingshere are still known locally as ‘The Brewery’.

Go through a stone squeeze stile and continue beside a wall.Looking down towards the river you will see a substantial earthwork,beyond which a hollow way leads to a former ford.

You come to a gateway with grand stone pillars. This is the old carriage way toHarbut Lodge, built in 1838. Go through the gate and bear left up the fieldfollowing Pennine Way waymarkers. Go through a field gate and follow thetrack past a house on your right. Turn right and walk across the field to a stile.Cross the stile and turn left onto a stony track.

Follow the track up to the road Turn right and walk alongthe road for about 50m and (taking care ) cross to akissing gate.

Climb the field ahead, following Pennine Waymarkers, through several kissing gates andover two stone stiles. The Enclosure Act forAlston Moor was passed by Parliament in 1803,following which much previously open moorlandwas transformed into enclosed fields by theconstruction of many miles of drystone walls.Many of the fields were then improved throughdrainage and the application of lime and fertiliser.

Drop down to Gilderdale Burn. Cross thefootbridge and keep to the path, climbingthen contouring round a hillock andfollowing the track straight on. A Romanbridge carrying the Maiden Way over the burnmust have stood close to this footbridge, butno sign of it has yet been found.

The farm buildings at Whitlow andHolymire incorporate bastles, defensiblefarmhouses dating from about 1600,which had byres on the ground floor withliving quarters above. Such structures werenecessary to protect people and stockduring the turbulent era of the borderreivers (cattle/sheep thieves who raidedacross the border from both sides).

You have now reached the great Romanfort of Epiacum (Whitley Castle). It musthave dominated the landscape during thesecond, third and fourth centuries. Feel freeto explore the fort more closely. Enter thearea through the gate in the bottom rightcorner (as seen from the path). Continuealong the Pennine Way through a kissinggate to the left of Castle Nook Farm.

The walkStart at the South Tynedale railway car park. Walk back over the level crossing,turn right and walk up the road, turning right at the top. Continue along thestreet, pass the turning to the left towards the town centre.

Alston is reputedly the highest market town in England. Recorded in twelfth-centurydocuments, it stands at the crossroads of the North Pennines, with roads following ancientroutes north into Tynedale, east to Weardale, south-east to Teesdale and south-west to theEden Valley. The ancient medieval church was demolished and a new one built in 1769, tobe replaced in turn by the present church in 1869. Its medieval and post-medieval history isclosely linked to the local lead industry and many of the town’s buildings date from theeighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when this industry was at its height.

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Keep following the Pennine Way, down to the leftof the farm buildings and through trees to theroad. Taking care, cross over the road and crossfields to Dyke House. The farm buildings here dateoriginally from about 1700. They stand exactly on theline of the Maiden Way, the route of which you can seein the fields to the north. Follow the path throughseveral gates, then diagonally right down toKirkhaugh railway bridge.

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Turn right to visit Kirkhaugh church. Thecross outside the church here dates from the10th or 11th century. The church, uniquelydedicated to ‘The Holy Paraclete’, dates backto the thirteenth century but was largelyrebuilt in 1869, its design apparently inspiredby churches in the Black Forest.Now return to the railway station orback at the road turn right, passingUnderbank Farm.

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Walk route Pennine Way(on walk route)

Pennine Way(off walk route)

Permitted access area to fort- please use stiles or gates

About the railwayThe railway from Haltwhistle toAlston was opened in 1852 to servethe local lead industry. It closed in1976 and the the track bed is nowfollowed by a narrow-gaugerailway managed by the SouthTynedale Railway PreservationSociety. For more information onthe railway visit www.strps.org.uk.For timetable informationtelephone 01434 382828.

3 Keep to the track as it bears left, through trees. Gothrough a gate, then stay on the track to a smallgate to the left of a house. In the early 19th century‘Tower Hill’ had a 56ft high lead shot tower over a 50ftshaft, down which molten lead ore was poured,cooling as it dropped, to form round pellets. The towerhas now gone, but the factory became a house, andthe name survives. Follow the narrow path,between a wall on your left and a fence andhedge on your right.

© University ofNewcastle upon Tyne

© Natural England/Charlie Hedley

© Marcus Byron

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© NPAP/Abi Wylde

Map © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.Durham County Council LA100019779 2009